Nesting and stacking container



Dec. 19, 1961 R. G. CHESLEY 3,013,692

NESTING AND STACKING CONTAINER Filed Jan. 16, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR. A OBE/Q7 67/5515? 6/46 71 4 Wasp/gums 5%?45 Dec. 19, 1961 R.G. CHESLEY 3,013,692

NESTING AND STACKING CONTAINER Filed Jan. 16, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4110 24- 42 118 5 a 7 ,7 K v 7 46 D'\\ 2 Lg l {/II r INVENTOR. 05527CHESLi/ United States Pater 3,013,692 NESTING AND STACKING CONTAINERRobert G. Chesley, Farmington, Mich., assignor to Chesley IndustriesInc., Detroit, Mich. Filed Jan. 16, 1959, Ser. No. 787,185 1 Claim. (Cl.220-97) The present invention relates to nesting and stackingcontainers, and more particularly, to open-topped containers adapted tobe stacked on one another when filled and to be nested one within theother when empty.

Nesting and stacking containers of the general type contemplated by thepresent invention have had wide usage. They possess the advantage ofbeing easily loaded and unloaded, they may be readily stacked to formpiles convenient for storage or shipping, and when empty they may benested together to form compact units occupying a minimum of space. Thecontainers are designed to be reused a large number of times with aresultant cost saving over disposable shipping containers.

One of the principal problems in the construction of a nesting andstacking container is the provision of such a container having a highratio of carrying capacity to total volume occupied by the container.Another problem is the provision of space saving stacking means wherebythe containers may be stacked to form a stable, interlocking pile inwhich there is no horizontal or vertical movement of the individualcontainers. And, in view of the desirability of forming the containersfrom inexpensive plastics, a further problem is the adaptability of thecontainer design to plastic molding technique. The container should havean integral construction and intricate configurations, such as arefrequently associated with the stacking means, should be avoided.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide anopen-topped nesting and stacking container.

Another object of the invention is to provide a nesting and stackingcontainer having a high ratio of carrying capacity of space occupancy.

An additional object of the invention is to provide such a containerwhich is sturdy and has high strength to be capable of being stacked inrelatively high piles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a nesting and stackingcontainer which may be readily molded as an integral structure fromplastic.

A further object of the invention is to provide a nesting and stackingcontainer which when stacked provides a stable unit that will not shiftin the vertical or horizontal directions.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following descriptionand appended claim, reference being had to the accompanying drawingsforming a part of this specification wherein like reference charactersdesignate corresponding parts in the several views.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a nesting and stacking containerconstructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the lines 22 ofFIG. 4 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a left end elevational view of the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a right end elevational view of the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a view of two nested containers in section taken substantiallyalong the line 6--6 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 6 showing two stackedcontainers.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited in its application to thedetails of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also,it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employedherein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the nesting and stacking container 16comprises an open-topped, box-like structure having a generallyrectangular bottom wall 12 of unequal length and width. The bottom 12 isprovided with a plurality of ribs 14 to give added strength to thestructure. Lateral walls 16, 18, 20, 22 extend upwardly and outwardlyfrom the bottom wall 12 to form a sloping wall structure. The lateralwalls comprise a pair of opposed side walls 16, 18 and a pair of opposedend walls 2%), 22 which are shorter than theside walls 16, 18. Theadjacent ends of the lateral walls are joined together to form a unitarycontainer structure. The area within the upper edges of the lateralwalls defines a rectangle larger than. and concentric with, the bottomwall 12. The junctures of the lateral walls with each other and with thebottom wall 12 may be rounded as shown to avoid sharp corners and toincrease the container strength.

Stacking means comprising spaced vertically-extendingoutwardly-projecting portions 24 are provided on the lateral walls. Theprojections 24 form protuberances on the exterior lateral wall surfacesand recesses or hollows 011 the interior lateral wall surfaces. Theprojecting portions 24 extend from the upper edge of the lateral wallsto the bottom wall 12.

Each of the projecting portions 24 comprises an outer wall portion 39having side wall portions 3 2, 34- extending inwardly and laterallytherefrom to merge with the container lateral walls. The outer Wallportion 30 is tapered to have a greater width at the top than at thebottom. This taper facilitates nesting of the protuberances within therecesses. A horizontally extending notch 36 is provided at the lower endof each of the projecting portions 24. The notch 36 has a horizontalabutment surface 38 and a vertical abutment surface 40. The abutmentsurfaces 38, 40 define an exterior seating surface for seating of thecontainer 10 on a subjacent container to provide for stacking. Thedistance between the vertical abutment surfaces 40 on oppositelydisposed lateral walls is provided as substantially equal to the widthor length, respectively, of the rectangle formed at the upper end of thecontainer 10. In this manner, when the containers are stacked there willbe a tight fit as the vertical abutment surfaces will press outwardlyagainst the lateral walls.

The projecting portions 24 are each located to avoid having aprotuberance of one lateral wall register with a recess of therespective oppositely disposed lateral wall when the container 10 isturned horizontally end-forend. With this arrangement, the containers 10may be stacked upon one another by turning the upper containerhorizontally end-for-end with relationship to the subjacent container toseat the protuberances of one container on the upper edges of thelateral walls of the subjacent container. This arrangement also providesfor nesting of the containers, since the containers 10 may be nestedwith the protuberances of one container nesting within the recesses ofthe subjacent container.

Two arrangements are shown for assuring non-alignment of theprotuberances and recesses when the containers are turned end-for-end.In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, each side wall 16, 18 isprovided with a pair of projecting portions 24. The projecting portions24 are spaced an unequal distance from the center lines of therespective side walls 16, '18. When a container is turned end-for-end,the side wall projecting portions will be displaced from thecorresponding projecting portions on the subjacent container 10. Thecontainers may thus be securely stacked, as the seating surfaces of theprojecting portions 24 will rest on the upper edges of the lateralwalls.

The end walls 20, 22 are provided with a different arrangement ofprojecting portions 24 to compensate for the shorter length of the endwalls. As may be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, one end wall 20 is provided witha single projecting portion 24 located centrally thereof. The op posingend wall 22 is provided with two projecting portions 24 located adjacentthe side walls 16, 13 to leave a center portion 42. When the container15 is turned end-for-end, projecting portion 24 of the end wall willrest on the center portion 42 of a subjacent container and the twoprojecting portions 24 of the end wall 22 will rest adjacent either sideof the projecting portion 24 of the end wall 20 of the subjacentcontainer.

As may be readily appreciated, either method of positionntent of theprojecting portions 24 may be used on all four lateral walls dependingupon the dimensions of the container. The method shown is, however,preferred. it should be noted that there is a single geometricalrelationship between both the end wall and side wall arrangements. Therelationship is that each of the projecting portions is spaced, withrespect to the projecting portions of the opposed end or side wall, innon-symmetrical relationship about a vertical axis through thegeometrical center of the container whereby any plane coinciding withsaid axis avoids intersecting two projecting portions on opposed walls.

A peripheral flange 44 is provided to extend around the upper edges ofthe lateral walls. The flange 44 comprises a horizontally extendingportion 46 and a downwardly turned portion 4.8. The flange serves as aseating surface for the projecting portions 24 and also increases thestrength of the lateral wall structure of the container.

As may be seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the containers 10 may be either nestedor stacked. FIG. 6 illustrates the nested condition. As there shown, theprotuberances of one container 16 are nested within the recesses of asubjacent container "10. The sloping walls of the container 10 permitthe upper container to be telescoped into the lower container. Thestacked condition is illustrated in FIG. 7. The upper container has beenturned endfor-end with relationship to the lower container. The seatingsurfaces of the projecting portions 24 are resting upon the upper edgesof the lateral walls. The horizontal abutment surface 38 gives verticalsupport to the upper container 10 and the vertical abutment surface 40gives lateral support to the upper container 10 to thus provide alocked-in condition for the stacked containers.

The provision of the bottom wall ribs 14, flange 44 and projectingportions 24 result in a high strength structure capable of carryingheavy loads and being stacked in high piles. The overall configurationof the container avoids intricate curves or lines and may be readilymolded by standard plastic molding methods. The relatively shallowprojections and small slant of the lateral walls results in a structurehaving a high carrying capacity to space occupancy.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim:

A nesting and stacking container comprising a generally rectangularbottom wall of unequal length and width; lateral walls extendingupwardly and outwardly therefrom; said lateral walls comprising a pairof opposed side walls and a pair of opposed end walls; adjacent ends ofthe lateral walls joined together; each of said side walls having atleast two spaced apart outwardly projecting hollow portions which extendupwardly from a point adjacent said bottom wall to the upper edges ofsaid side walls; said side wall projecting portions formingprotuberances on the exterior side wall surfaces and recesses on theinterior side wall surfaces; the side wall projecting portions of eachside wall being spaced an unequal distance from the respective side wallvertical center line and with the projecting portions of one side walllying transversely opposite the corresponding projections of the otherside wall; each of said end walls having at least one outwardlyprojecting hollow portion which extends upwardly from a point adjacentthe bottom wall to the upper edge of the respective end wall; said endwall projecting portions forming protuberances on the exterior end wallsurfaces and recesses on the interior end wall surfaces; said end wallprojecting portions being so located that a projecting portion of oneend wall is not directly opposite from a projecting portion of theopposite end wall; each of said side wall and end wall projectingportions having a notch on the lower end thereof; each of said notchesextending for the width of its respective projection and each beingdefined by a generally vertical wall extending upwardly from the bottomof the projecting portion and a generally horizontal wall extending fromthe upper end of said vertical notch wall to the outer surface of theprojecting portion; the shortest distance between a plane defined by thevertical notch walls of one wall and a plane defined by the outersurfaces of the projecting portions on the oppositely disposed wallbeing greater than the shortest distance between the upper edges of therespective oppositely disposed walls whereby a plurality of containersmay be stacked on one another with the horizontal notch walls of theprojecting portions of one container seated on the upper edges of thewalls of the subjacent container and with the vertical notch walls ofthe projecting portion extending into the subjacent container to thuslock each container in the stacked condition or may be nested with theprotuberances of one container nesting within the recesses of thesubjacent container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,655,283 Moldt Oct. 13, 1953 2,760,676 Knieriem et al Aug. 28, 19562,813,656 Anderson Nov. 19, 1957 2,823,828 Frater Feb. 18, 1958 FOREIGNPATENTS 1,095,521 France Dec. 22, 1954 1,131,653 France Oct. 22, 1956

